Pros and cons of retirement life

Everyone agrees that retirement from work is an exciting time for many people after working for more than three or four decades.

In retirement, a person has freedom and ample time to pursue their personal interests, travel or write, while also enjoying various other comforts of life. But it is also a time of anxiety and challenge for some retirees, either because they lack many of the material and social privileges they were getting at work, or were accustomed to their daily work routine.

Retirement brings for some people financial, social and psychological problems since they experience a decline in their monthly incomes, as well as the social status they were enjoyed as employed professionals.

Oftentimes, they grumble that what they receive is insufficient to meet the requirements of daily life. Sometimes, their complaints prompt official institutions to examine their demands and approve an annual increase in their salaries to keep pace with annual inflation. This is what was recently taken in the sisterly countries of Qatar to raise the salaries of retirees.

Some institutions also host retirees, who have specific types of expertise, to speak at various types of scientific, literary and art forums and conferences.

From time to time, countries provide benefits to retirees by reforming laws pertinent to these groups, while also encouraging certain sectors and private institutions to allocate incentives and benefits to them in the form of, for examples, discounts on treatment, travel, entertainment and other such services.

Yet, there are some sections of the retiree community who feel at risk of boredom or begin questioning their self-worth – developments that can lead to depression and other health problems due to this negative mindset.

The biggest challenge in retirement is simply defining oneself in terms of one’s roles, activities and what they do, while self-acceptance is one of the greatest gifts of retired life.

With retirement, the time a person spends without work increases, and this sometimes leads to an imbalance, and how to use the time in a positive way and avoid tensions, and how to adapt to the new reality.

Some of them plan and make decisions to take advantage of whatever positive thing is available to them and their daily life.

There is a lot of research showing that people who deal best with retirement are those who remain active and engaged, either by pursuing an old hobby or starting a new one.

They also remain physically active, such as by walking or swimming regularly, and participating in volunteer and community work.

As for those who overwhelm themselves with feelings of loneliness and seclusion, they tend to suffer from several diseases, especially in old age which requires them to make an effort to stay connected with family members of children and grandchildren, communicate with friends, participate in activities, and work on their skills to stay productive.